Yesterday the home video market got a bit of sad news when it was announced the Flip video camera was being discontinued. Sure the Flip camera had ability to capture great video of your friend doing a faceplant skateboarding or other general acts of idiocy, but the Flip camera also heralded an easy way to grab great video of fish, corals, equipment and other reef-related items on the go and get these video gems online in a simple way. Despite losing a major innovator, the news also signifies the incredible advances in the video camera market coming out now and in the near future.
In its five-year lifespan, the Flip camera launched a video revolution of sorts including a whole generation of copycat products centered around an easy way to shoot quality video, then be able to organize and upload video online in a simple way. The growing smartphones market along with technological advances for onboard cameras with the ability to shoot extremely high quality video means single use products like the Flip are becoming obsolete.
The Flip and other cameras changed the way we thought about shooting and posting video. Sure there will always be those in this hobby that will spend top dollar on a digital SLR or HD video camera (we all know at least ONE of these camera snobs…errr….aficionados….right?!?!) but for the majority of us, having one ubiquitous device is becoming the norm.
Taking a look at the news also signals how much technology has improved in such a short time. We are now at the beginning of a new technological revolution in video that may be even more dynamic than the one launched by Flip just a few years ago. We are getting more bang for the buck with higher resolution and HD video capabilities on smartphones, waterproof still and HD video camera combos and even the emerging home 3D camera market.
While you won’t see too many people popping out their Flip to grab some video of an awesome reef tank in the near future, just imagine being able to shoot some incredible HD 3D video right from your phone. As we say goodbye to one technology, we welcome the incredible possibilities of another.
